October 26, 2015 at 4:46 AM (PT)

The suit by ROBERT CASEY II, naming VIACOM Chairman SUMNER REDSTONE and 13 other board members as defendants, claims that the company's $785 million writedown blamed on underperforming television programming, leading to a pause in its stock buyback program, was in reality based on "illicit activities" that the board refused to investigate.

The suit cites charges by the EUROPEAN UNION over alleged "illegal licensing agreements" as an example of the alleged misconduct, and alleges that the board made "deliberate and repeated efforts to hide everything" about an investigation by the board's audit committee.